Wednesday 17 December 2008

Robinson, you are a biased fraud

Nick Robinson's fitness as a supposedly unbiased political editor of the BBC has come into question many times, not least here. His latest blog entry, on the subject of McGovern's resignation statement is, to me, his most cynical and calculated piece of piece of diversionary propaganda to date.

McGovern, quoted in the guardian, on the reason for his resignation:

In a statement, McGovern, the MP for Dundee West and a former union activist, said that he could not support "what looks to me like partial privatisation of the Royal Mail" and that he was particularly unhappy about the revelation that Mandelson had welcomed an expression of interest from the Dutch firm TNT.
And, under the title "What really beggars belief", here is Nick Robinson's comment:

What really does beggar belief is the idea that Jim McGovern could sit in the department for business as bag carrier for the minister responsible for the Royal Mail, Pat McFadden, and not have known for many weeks that this was precisely what was being planned.

Could his resignation have more to do with the fact that the SNP are targeting his Dundee West constituency? The nationalists already control the council, both Holyrood seats and the neighbouring Westminster seat?

The man resigned on a specific issue, made public in Mandelson's statement yesterday - and Nick Robinson imputes that this is not the case, that he acted for political reasons. On what evidence?. What did Nick Robinson expect him to do? Resign before the decision was announced? Robinson and Peston may be privy to Government decisions before they are made public - but the rest of us aren't so we would hardly have understood the background - or perhaps this is just what Robinson would have wished.

Instead of reporting objectively and incisively on the Political event of the day Robinson has published a story specifically to discredit the man who resigned, almost without comment on the point of principle involved. For a Political editor this shows either an extremely limited understanding of the news agenda or a shameless degree of bias. He did this before on the Daily Politics during the Baby P affair, and I was prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt. No more.

Robinson - in the way that you discharge your duties as an unbiased and competent Political editor you are a total fraud. Sue me - I would love to put your reputation and the history of your reporting at issue in a court and so would many people who are forced on pain of criminal charges to pay for the biased rubbish you and some others produce in the name of news.

5 comments:

Dungeekin said...

Robinson is a political shill, no more than that.

After his attempt to spin the Green affair into something completely different, I wrote an open letter to him (and tried to link to it on his blog, which was of course denied)..

He's a toadying lickspittle, in my opinion.

Hope you get the response that I didn't.

D

Anonymous said...

I posted a comment, based on the observation that the frequency of Nick Robinson's blogs appears to be related to messages that the government (and Mandelson in particular) want to get across. It was "referred to the moderators" very soon after appearing.

A second comment drawing a conclusion based on the former lasted a ittle longer, but was similarly censured and was rejected as being "off topic".

There was nothing rude or offensive in either posting.

I am left with the clear impression that Nick Robinson is being used as a mouthpiece for government spin.

Cassius said...

Interestingly someone else mailed me to say that they had linked to this article, and the post was removed for being "off topic"

Perhaps more of us should post a link to this article!

Anonymous said...

Robinson at ITN was an excellent political reporter. One of the few not supping at the NULab table. He has gone native at BBC - it does that. Tow the line or lose your job.

I notified BBC that I am not paying my licence. Two reasons. Ross the obscene and Robinson the reporter in the pay of NuLab.

Anonymous said...

Is the BBC protecting us or the Government by constantly refering to the recession as an economic downturn?
When the Prime Minister promised a "government of all the talents",
should we have anticipated the
appointments of Nick Robinson as his
press officer and the BBC as his
advertising agency?
Rhetoric requires no answers,but change will only come about,through a change of Government.